Fuji Finepix X100

I usually shoot with a Canon 1D Mk IV, so this camera probably feels slower to me than it does to the most users. But the start-up time, focus acquisition, and shutter lag, are all far too slow.

The menu system and controls are far from intuitive. They are clunky but, nonetheless, workable.

The image quality is nice and the retro look is great, especially because many places that would perceive a big DSLR to be unwelcome don't have a problem with this camera!

I bought it as a small and unobtrusive travel camera. It fits that bill nicely but it could be so much better if it were not as sluggish and the user-interface were designed properly.

What a great fun camera. Image quality is excellent for a compact camera. In camera jpegs are the best I've seen and low light perfromance is very very good. Lots of flexibility in the manual settings although the menu structure takes a bit of getting used to (Firmware update 1.20 out now makes things a little less quirky. Fixed focal length lens makes you think a bit harder but the pay off is in the image qulaity.

A friend of mine put me onto the FujiX100 as I was looking for a smaller camera than my Canon DSLR to tak eoverseas with me. I read te reviews and was impressed what people were saying about it. I went into Teds Camera house to have a look at one for my elf and as soon as I touched it I knew I had to buy it. Its made from steel and glass like camera's used to be and it just looks so cool. Straigh out of the box I set the camera to shoot in RAW took a few snaps and downloaded them to my computer and the results were stunning. I could not believe the colours , the sharpness and the overal image quility. It blew me away. In my opinion my Canon 7D doesnt compare. Focus can be slow and frustrating sometimes and memory save time can be slow when shooting in raw , but when you get a picture right , it sjust bliss. The hybrd view finder is just awesome. It makes you feel like a kid again looking threw 3D slides on a viewmaster toy. This camera is not a quick point and snap sorta thing , you hav eto take a little tiom eand care and you wil be get unbeatable images. Its like nothing else out there. I love it ;-)

Great camera that is easy to use. Battery life (when shooting RAW) diminished a little too quickly - a back-up battery is required. Writing time for images to the SD card is VERY slow and the fastest SD card you can afford is also recommended. Slow start up is a a bit of a shame too - missed a few shots due to camera not starting in time.

Image quality is lovely and the camera is comfortable in hand. Seeing the pop up image in the view finder also limits the need to playback shots all the time.

Overall, having fun with this camera - technology can never be perfect. Hopefully Fuji will fix some of these very basic (and outdated) issues soon!

This camera is a particular beast. It is important to understand the intentions behind its retro design, solid, metal Japanese body and large degree of manual intervention. Its strengths lie in a high quality fast or large aperture lens that allows good quality low-noise images in low-light conditions, for fast-moving subjects and a shallow depth of field and silky-smooth bokeh for flattering portraits or artistic, creative shots. The fixed lens is equivalent to 35mm, i.e. quite wide, great for architecture, landscapes or composed shots where you can get up close to the subject. These are the stated aims of the camera. A person seeking a long zoom or the versatility of multiple lenses may not find this satisfying. The manual control options and menu-controlled image control of features such as colour space, white balance, amount of HDR, contrast, saturation and film simulation all combine to be either the greatest attribute or the greatest challenge. For an inexperienced photographer these features might go un-utilised or be daunting. For the person who wants creative control, understands a camera's operations and colour/aperture/exposure operations, this camera has all the flexibility of a full-blown D-SLR. The lens speed and quality is also excellent ensuring that, so long as a respectfully ow ISO is selected, quality images with minimal noise can be produced. The sharpness is very good for this price-range, though incomparable with a much larger, more expensive, heavier, prime piece of glass. On long exposures (with 30" or bulb setting) there is minimal colour aberration. The patience and time taken to compose and control a shot optimally, I think, encourages a careful and creative approach more than a snappy one. That said, a person who used only the automatic settings would also yield a high quality batch of shots because of the forgiving large aperture. At first, the menu setup and familiarisation with physical layout was a little weird but I quickly became acquainted and the degree of control is now a very endearing aspect of this camera. I would not choose this for a tourist all-rounder if I could only carry one camera, but for the the person who wants a higher quality of image, similar to a D-SLR with good lens, for the price and especially for people who enjoy street photography and relatively wide shots. The colour rendering and aperture control are top quality. The only featured I have not tamed to my satisfaction is the macro setting. While it works, I cannot achieve the same sharpness and quality as for normal mode. The camera's own metering and fill-in flash are very sympathetic. It is probably too obvious to point out that the retro styling is very reminiscent of older Leica cameras and manual cameras of yesteryear. This didn't influence my decision to buy the camera but if you are partial to that aesthetic, then it will have added appeal. The back of the camera is very minimalistic, belying its capabilities of all the menu capabilities you might expect to find on a contemporary D-SLR or D-rangefinder style of camera.

This camera was all that the advertising material said it was...I was impressed by the layout, design and most of all the results that it achieved under a variety of shooting situations.. About the only thing I could have done was wait a few more months for the interchangeable lens version to hit the market. Nevertheless I got a great bargain from Ted's at Marion..Thanks guys it's a great camera.

This is possibly the greatest camera I've ever used. It's absolutely not for beginners, though. If you don't already have a DSLR and use it on full-manual all the time... you probably won't enjoy this camera much. But if you do... this little thing is heaven, and incredible to travel with. I'm replacing a D700+full set of lenses with the X100, shaving about 3.5kg off my carry on weight, and not sacrificing image quality.

I purchased this camera to do street photography. I just returned from Asia and have thoroughly enjoyed using the X100 to capture markets, portraits and the street life without the use of a bulky intrusive camera. The sensor is amazing and produces great bokeh. I found that the colours and ability to capture in low light conditions was also excellent and never used the flash even at night. The menu is quite complicated but easy to use and set up for an experienced amateur.

I could say many things which everyone can already read up in the many thousand reviews on the net. So I stick to the main things, built as a tank with image quality only matched by the big guns (DSLR) but slow focus not near as good as many basic point and shoot cameras. No tiltable screen but this is something one can live with when considering the excellent EVF, I now use 90% the EVF again. Battery life is great even so I purchased a spare it would not have been required but this is just my panic to run out of power (easy a day shooting).
It is a camera for the advanced photographer with not doubt but if you have money to burn and don’t mind to use all the capabilities this camera has (when challenged) then you can get also easy around in auto function with great results. The fact there is no zoom is sad but it is just not possible right now but you can crop quite a lot due to the extreme good IQ . The X10 is the better option if you after a camera with zoom.
If you are in the market for a compact camera with DSLR IQ than this is it.

I have a Nikon D5000 which I rarely take out because of its size and heft. Consequently I miss a lot of opportunities to take some decent photos with my family. Having to resort to the iPhone camera is not ideal and in low light you might as well use a crayon and paper. I originally bought an Panasonic Lumix LX5 hoping to suffice my spur of the moment photography needs and while it's a very good P&S camera, the small sensor (actually relatively big in the P&S segment) left me wanting. It's quick and purposeful and takes brilliant images in good light but getting any decent shallow DOF or low-noise at ISO higher than 800 is next to impossible. I was relegated to the fact there for better image quality, I will have to go with the DSLR. Then I stumbled upon the Fujifilm X100.

It was lust at first sight. No other camera has moved me more than this. Some may dismiss the sexy retro body as being skin deep, but it isn't. An APS-C sensor (same as my Nikon DSLR), fantastic Fujinon lens and tactile dials for shutter, aperture and exposure settings make you feel like photography is a romantic art form again. I cannot tell you how much being attracted to your camera makes you WANT to take more photos. The size was perfect, the weight was much lighter than any SLR and lastly the brilliant hybrid viewfinder (unmatched by any other camera at the moment) allows you to connect to your subject much better than holding your camera at arms length to take photos. The silent shutter and inconspicuous looks means you can take photos without looking like a tourist or intimidating your subject with a huge and noisy DSLR.

There are a few problems though. One was the fixed 23mm lens (35mm in film equivalent) so no zoom. I figured with majority of my shooting needs, I rarely use zoom and I can always zoom with my feet if required. The other is the quirky software system. Updated to the latest 1.11 firmware a lot of quirks have been ironed out but it still takes some time to figure out where all the settings are at. And lastly the manual focus ring requires too much movement for adjusting focus. Auto focus is quick enough (not as quick as an SLR) but there are some tricks and tips that make life so much easier if you search user forums, such as focusing in manual mode and pressing the AEL/AFL button for quick autofocus (works for macro distances as well so no need to enter macro mode). Those used to the quick and easy auto-focussing of an SLR will find this annoying however. For street photography you can stop down the lens to say f8.0, pre-focus to focus from 3m onwards as it displays the focus plane and shoot away with reckless abandon though.

The X100 can take RAW images although the JPEGs out of the camera are beautiful and even post-processing RAW images I found it difficult to get something better than the JPEGs, other than some very slight vignetting or colour noise at ISO 6400 and above. Note that this has a very fast lens at f2.0 and coupled with the extremely clean ISO up to 3200, and ability to shoot 1/30 with no camera shake (due to no flipping mirror as you get in an SLR) means you can almost see in the dark. Almost. Images at ISO 6400 started to introduce noticeable noise in shadows but it's not unpleasant and almost grain-like. Oh and I forgot to mention the Auto White Balance is bleedingly accurate. More so than my Nikon actually which gets confused in incandescent light. In regards to bokeh (or out of focus backgrounds) which is all the rage these days, the X100 does this nicely with very pleasing soft details but you won't get the same level of bokeh as you would from say an equivalent SLR with 50mm lens only because of the way the 23mm lens crop works. I would try to explain it but Wiki does it a lot better.

Note that this camera does not come with "candlelight" or other gimmicky settings. It's all up to you on getting the exposure right with manipulation of the ISO, aperture and shutter speed. Although you can set it A priority or S priority and leave it at Auto ISO for quicker photography. You can also set it to P mode for the closest to an All Auto mode. There are a few different film settings, B&W, panoramic and video mode in 720p. You can also process RAW files straight to JPEG from directly within the camera which is a nice feature.

If you have the slightest interest in taking up photography as a hobby, or you don't want to lug around a big SLR but can't stomach the image quality from P&S or even the new M4/3 systems, then the X100 will fit your needs quite nicely. You have to be prepared to learn the camera and its quirks however and get used to seeing the world in 35mm only. The X100 will reward you in ways no other camera can.

The x100 is a solid camera, I use it for my food blog. It takes some great pictures but struggles a bit in really low light situations.

First up I have to admit that I have been stuck in the 80's. I own a series of 35mm and medium format film cameras that are completely manual, and until now I have never wanted to own a digital camera - and I am totally conscious of how old fashioned that makes me sound. Don't get me wrong, I have used plenty of lower-end digital cameras - but none of them have given me the thrill of feeling like you are 'making' an image like the old fim cameras did.
Now everything has changed and I have become a total convert! The FujiFilm X100 is the digital camera I have been waiting 20 years to own. I have been inspired to get into the nitty-gritty of photoshop, and have been playing with HDR images because of the X100.
The image quality is staggering, the build qulity is evident from the minute you pick up the camera, it feels solid, and takes great pictires when set to fully automatic, but that is not all.
This camera has all of the features that you'd expect from a modern camera - but to get the most out of this camera you should probably revisit some of the old-school sensibilities, control it manually and hold it up to your eye, experiment. This is the only reason that I have marked down the 'Ease Of Use' score - it is not difficult to use, but it is a camera that encourages you step back and think about how you might want to take a picture, it asks you to tweak with the controls, and not just settle for the auto exposure/focus etc.
I am in love with this camera, but it is not for the uninitiated - if you want something to take snaps of your family on holiday, then it might not be the best camera for you - but I am pretty sure you will have fun exploring how to use it should you take the plunge.

The Fuji Finepix X100 is an amazing piece of technology that continuously turns heads every time I take it out. The old-school body look of the camera, with its top of the range technology really make this something to look at getting. As a compact camera that takes amazing photos, the X100 does a great job in doing not only that, but HD videos. I personally found it a bit tricky to use at first, as I am use to my SLR, but over time I have been getting to know all of its features and functions and it has become easier. I am so happy with this camera and would most definitely recommend getting one.

The Fujifilm X100 is a beautiful camera. The retro design (looks just like my 40-year-old Canon Demi EE17) is stunning, but the image quality is what really attracted me. It achieves this by having a DSLR-size sensor and a fixed focal length lens (in effect 35 mm). Some people may find it hard to adjust to not having a zoom lens, but I love the challenge to be more creative and inventive in setting up shots. Of course, it doesn't suit all situations, but no camera does. It has very little noise at high ISO settings, and the sharpness and colours are really impressive. I have some minor criticisms - the autofocus can sometimes be a bit temperamental, and changing some settings (eg ISO range) can be a bit clunky - but overall I just love this camera. I also love people's reactions when at first they think it is an old film camera from the 1960s or 1970s (especially when I have it in its gorgeous custom-made leather case). In some ways, it is the poor man's Leica M9, but comparisons are unnecessary - it should just be enjoyed in its own right. I still use my other cameras for other purposes, but the Fujifilm X100 is my favourite (and I haven't even mentioned the hybrid viewfinder!). It is a unique camera - not a DLSR, not a compact point and shoot, and not a hybrid with interchangeable lenses - and I thoroughly recommend it.

I had been waiting for the x100 to come into stock and saw it on the shelf at TED'S one afternoon - and snapped it up. It's been on my belt pretty much constantly everywhere I go ever since. The whole point was to get a compact camera that I could carry with me, and have image quality near equal to my DSLR. The x100 does not disappoint. There is something magical about the photos it takes. The auto dynamic range is great in retaining that extra detail. Focussing is rarely a problem except in low light where it is prudent to zoom magnify and double check things - tweaking with the manual focus control. The image quality is stunning and as good as my Nikon gear. In fact my D90/D300 DSLR gear has been gathering dust for the last three or four months! The x100's 35mm fixed lens has made me a better photographer and I have learned to love this focal length compositionally. The panorama feature of the x100 let's me go wider and usually blends nicely - sometimes you do get banding of exposure during panoramas - switching to manual mode usually helps. Build quality is solid and I'm sure this camera will be with me for a long time to come. It's a breakthrough classic.

This camera takes a lot of beating (and strength wise would take a lot of beating too). Although it has a fixed lens this just adds to the image quality and you can always move about if you want to capture a particular frame! With the image quality here, framing on the computer is the way to go.
The low light capacity of the big sensor is terrific and the noise levels at high sensitivity settings are very low. I have had great macro shots with no flash that give a wonderful soft illumination and modeling of the surface of objects using ambient light and some simple light sources.
A robust camera that is small but with great optical quality - definitely recommended

Not my most expensive/feature packed camera. However, due to it's rangefinder-like styling, compact size, good sensor, high ISO performance, and discrete/unobtrusive nature, I find that this camera is my most used.

There is no other camera out there like the X100 (yet).

Highly recommended, but only for people who are confident with their existing camera first. Would not recommend if this is going to be your first and only camera.

Produces exceptional images IF you know what you're doing. It's not a camera for everyone, though. For example, can you live with a fixed 35mm-equivalent focal length (no zoom)? Definitely quirky. For example, you have to learn how and where to focus with the rangefinder-style optical viewfinder. It definitely slows you down, which, depending on your style of photography might not suit you. In other words, action photography requires skills with this camera. This is a camera that brings back the old-style shooting experience. Exceptional white balance and high ISO performance. ISO at least as good as the Nikon D7000. The build quality is very high. This is a camera that is made to accompany a DSLR, not replace it. It's also not an upgrade from a point & shoot camera - better get the Fuji X10 or an Olympus EP-3 for that. But, the X100 id a camera you will love and keep, and which makes you want to go and shoot. Another advantage is that it's stealthy: it doesn't look "threatening" and, thus, allows you to take it and take quality pictures in situations where a larger DSLR might not be allowed or would draw stares. In short, don't get it because it just looks cool - you'll return it. But if you know what a Nikon FM is, you'll love it!